crichard6069
New member
Hello all -
I don't post much on here these days but I felt like making a post today. I was a bit bored and was "thumbing" through some of my old RC posts (from back in 2003 when I started) and found it interesting how much I've changed since then as a reef keeper.
Background
I've been in the hobby now since summer of 2003 (with a 2 year hiatus).
I've also made some monumental mistakes and have probably been a nightmare to some people here on RC in my early days. However, I've also had a ton of enjoyment out of this hobby.
I started in this hobby when I was 23, about a year out of college. I've always enjoyed freshwater aquariums and I think I was sitting at work one day and googled "Saltwater fish". The rest is history...
At 23, I had no money to do anything right. I bought everything used, cut corners, etc. I started with a 55 gallon tank from ebay with plain old HO florescent lights. I knew enough to let it cycle but followed it up with disaster after disaster. Who knew medications weren't reef safe? What the hell are these white spots on my fish?! A protein skimmer? It was bad.. very bad. So I did the only smart thing.. I upgraded! Got a larger tank (yes, I thought it smart to go buy a used 150g). The 150g didn't turn out too bad. Granted, I filled the thing with water from my garden hose but it was mildly successful. I ended up selling the tank when my wife and I moved (well, my girlfriend at the time) but picked up a used 75g shortly thereafter. Also mildly successful but I didn't get very far with it. We soon found out my wife was pregnant and I decided I need to save some money and take a break from the hobby. That was nearly 4 years ago (my daughter turns 3 on Saturday).
Present Day
That brings me to today... a couple years after I had been out of the hobby my brother-in-law bought a reef store in Roanoke, Va (I live in Massachusetts). For Christmas that year (2008) he gave my 6 month old girl an 8g biocube. Insisted it would be inexpensive, etc.. and just like that I was back into the hobby.
I'm a bit older now. Still broke, but no longer 23. I'm 31 now and I'm a huge fan of doing things right and not cutting corners. Currently I have a 70g cube with primarily softies in it. I added my first three SPS last week since the tank has been up for exactly 1 year. I've got the full setup.. RO/DI unit in the basement, a 55g sump (old tank) plumbed into my basement, metal halide lights (supported with a corallife T5 fixture that I hate), etc. I have ricordia mushrooms and yumas coming out my ears. I'm going to have to start taking some out cause they're taking over my tank. I have 5 or 6 ricordias in there that are nearly the size of a softball. A couple of leathers which have grown to massive proportions, frogspawns...
I'm very excited (and nervous) about adding my first few SPS. All of them came from saltwaterfish.com - I picked up an acropora frag, montipora digitata, and a birds nest. We'll see how they do.. parameters are definitely stable enough and they're under a 250w MH.
Anyhow.. I thought I would include some pictures of my 70g. The most recent picture I have is from April its missing all of the massive growth over the last couple of months. Here are some pictures from the start of it last July:
The start (or "restart"):
The cycle:
The sump in basement:
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/crichard6069/70g_Cube/?action=view¤t=IMG_0598.jpg
Full tank shot in April:
My ricordias:
That's about it for now. I didn't want to slam this thread with too many pictures.
Hopefully the new SPS's will thrive.. we shall see!
Chad
I don't post much on here these days but I felt like making a post today. I was a bit bored and was "thumbing" through some of my old RC posts (from back in 2003 when I started) and found it interesting how much I've changed since then as a reef keeper.
Background
I've been in the hobby now since summer of 2003 (with a 2 year hiatus).
I've also made some monumental mistakes and have probably been a nightmare to some people here on RC in my early days. However, I've also had a ton of enjoyment out of this hobby.
I started in this hobby when I was 23, about a year out of college. I've always enjoyed freshwater aquariums and I think I was sitting at work one day and googled "Saltwater fish". The rest is history...
At 23, I had no money to do anything right. I bought everything used, cut corners, etc. I started with a 55 gallon tank from ebay with plain old HO florescent lights. I knew enough to let it cycle but followed it up with disaster after disaster. Who knew medications weren't reef safe? What the hell are these white spots on my fish?! A protein skimmer? It was bad.. very bad. So I did the only smart thing.. I upgraded! Got a larger tank (yes, I thought it smart to go buy a used 150g). The 150g didn't turn out too bad. Granted, I filled the thing with water from my garden hose but it was mildly successful. I ended up selling the tank when my wife and I moved (well, my girlfriend at the time) but picked up a used 75g shortly thereafter. Also mildly successful but I didn't get very far with it. We soon found out my wife was pregnant and I decided I need to save some money and take a break from the hobby. That was nearly 4 years ago (my daughter turns 3 on Saturday).
Present Day
That brings me to today... a couple years after I had been out of the hobby my brother-in-law bought a reef store in Roanoke, Va (I live in Massachusetts). For Christmas that year (2008) he gave my 6 month old girl an 8g biocube. Insisted it would be inexpensive, etc.. and just like that I was back into the hobby.
I'm a bit older now. Still broke, but no longer 23. I'm 31 now and I'm a huge fan of doing things right and not cutting corners. Currently I have a 70g cube with primarily softies in it. I added my first three SPS last week since the tank has been up for exactly 1 year. I've got the full setup.. RO/DI unit in the basement, a 55g sump (old tank) plumbed into my basement, metal halide lights (supported with a corallife T5 fixture that I hate), etc. I have ricordia mushrooms and yumas coming out my ears. I'm going to have to start taking some out cause they're taking over my tank. I have 5 or 6 ricordias in there that are nearly the size of a softball. A couple of leathers which have grown to massive proportions, frogspawns...
I'm very excited (and nervous) about adding my first few SPS. All of them came from saltwaterfish.com - I picked up an acropora frag, montipora digitata, and a birds nest. We'll see how they do.. parameters are definitely stable enough and they're under a 250w MH.
Anyhow.. I thought I would include some pictures of my 70g. The most recent picture I have is from April its missing all of the massive growth over the last couple of months. Here are some pictures from the start of it last July:
The start (or "restart"):
The cycle:
The sump in basement:
http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/crichard6069/70g_Cube/?action=view¤t=IMG_0598.jpg
Full tank shot in April:
My ricordias:
That's about it for now. I didn't want to slam this thread with too many pictures.
Hopefully the new SPS's will thrive.. we shall see!
Chad
